Last weekend, in less than 24 hours, I drove down to Lynchburg and back again. My friend Margo and I were on a mission to clean the house and get it ready for sale. She had no idea what she was in for!
The Pearl Street House.
Stuart and I bought this house 7 years ago, thinking it was our place to settle down, forever.
In the way of “best laid plans of mice and men,” it did not work out. The job was not a good fit for Stuart and it was clear that it was time to head home to Maryland. This was sad in many ways as it meant the end of Stuart’s career as a helicopter pilot. We said goodbye to the type of friends that are all too rare. As I think of it now, it brings tears to my eyes: I loved Lynchburg,Virginia and I loved what Stuart had become, through his commitment and dedication to serving those in need.
The house was the one piece of Lynchburg we still had. It made me feel as if I still had a foot in that town.
It was comforting to think of it standing on the hill, a stalwart since 1880. A house with so much character and history that I felt I was doing a service to society just by owning it. It was an adventure from the start, and the children even discovered a secret passage.
The real estate market is brutal and we will take our lumps once again.
But at the same time it will free me. Selling that house will free me to be in the now, to fully appreciate my current surroundings and to let the roots run deep. Our home is in Maryland. We have family, friends and space to run. We have a community here. I will never forget Lynchburg or the people I love there. That house has been standing on Diamond Hill since 1880, and the past seven years have only been a brief part of that long history.
It is time to say goodbye and let the next chapter in this home’s history begin.
© copyright 2014 Mariam d’Eustachio at Simply Turquoise.
Simply Turquoise 
6 responses to “Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend”
Mariam, this post is so bittersweet. I think I know how you feel as I have moved a lot too. Truly though, HOME is not about a place, it is about the people around you. Hard for us decorator creatives who invest so much in our surroundings to “get that” but it is SO true. You, Mariam, need a new canvas every so often or on what would you “paint”? It’s a good thing and certainly an inspiration to everyone you share with and touch. Life is like that. We are GLAD for the Mariams of the world. Thanks be to God! P.S. In my own personal case, I am glad for the Margarets of the world and I miss one in particular.
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Can’t you just rent it out and come stay in the summers???????
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I think I’ll sell it and then come stay in your house for the summer.
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Thanks, Barbara! Mom is doing well, very well in fact. You should come for a visit!
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It was a charming house, as I recall, coming to visit all of you in less than a month from when you moved in. The pictures you took will serve you well in the years to come, when you think back on it. I remember my house in Hawaii. I wept when I went I saw it after more than four decades. Places like this will always be as vivid and memorable, irrespective of time.
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Pat, you are so right! I know the Lynchburg memories will last a lifetime and I am grateful for that!
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